Oil and gas produced from a production well are known to form foam as the hydrocarbon is produced from the well, transported and processed. Foam can be produced, for example, as a result of impurities in the hydrocarbon and often as a result of undergoing depressurization to release entrapped gas. The foam makes it difficult to transport and process the hydrocarbon mixture and can result in difficulties in separating the oil from the gas. Anti-foaming agents, especially silicone based agents are typically used to control foaming in order to increase the separation efficiency and thereby increase production capacity.
The use of silicone based material, however, is detrimental to the value of the produced hydrocarbon because it can have negative impacts on the refineries and other units used to further process the hydrocarbon.